Proverbs 24:15

Do not lie in wait like the wicked against the place where the righteous live;
do not assault his home.

There is one thing that I just don’t understand. It is something that has never made sense to me. There are lots of things that don’t make sense, and they don’t make sense for a good reason. Calculus doesn’t make sense, because it’s hard. People who like soccer, doesn’t make sense. Women, don’t make sense. But we all know why those don’t make sense.

But, this thing has driven me nuts for a long time. Christians who attack other Christians. Churches who view other churches as the enemy. Denominations who fight against other denominations. That has never made sense to me. Of course, it makes sense when you think about it. We’re all human and want to succeed. So, when another church succeeds and ours isn’t, we get competitive. And there’s the obvious answer, if the devil can succeed at dividing us and taking our focus off of reaching the lost and put it on fighting with other churches then he wins.

But seriously people, there is no competition. The church down the street is not your competition. The church across town, is not your competition. The other church online, not your competition. Our goal is not to do better than the other churches. Our purpose as a church is not to be bigger than all the other churches. That’s not the goal or purpose of church.

The goal and purpose of church is to reach the lost. That’s the mission. That’s the goal. That’s our end game.

So, for those of you who love your church. That’s great! Just don’t look for opportunities to tear other churches down. Don’t lick your lips when you see another church struggling with something. Don’t be happy when a church closes its doors or splits. Don’t be happy when a church runs their pastor off or he fails. Don’t wait for their destruction. Instead, support them on their mission.

Let’s stop wasting our energy talking about what all the other churches are doing. Let’s stop wasting our energy comparing ourselves to other churches. Let’s stop trying to stay up with the jones church. That’s not the point and there is no point in that. That’s all sideways diversions from what we’re supposed to be doing. It’s easy to get distracted by others and want to compare ourselves to them. But comparison is a diversion.

Instead of all the diversions, let’s get focused on mission. That’s what will make a real difference in the world. And the funny thing is, if we all did that, there’d be nothing for us to compare each other to, cause we’d all be growing.